Joan Manuel Ramirez Lema, 41, of Sterling, was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for charges related to smuggling guns from the United States to Bolivia, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

According to court documents, from Jan. 2010 to Aug. 2015, Ramirez Lema smuggled 115 firearms from the United States to Bolivia. Ramirez Lema, a U.S. citizen, shipped used vehicles with multiple firearms hidden in door panels.

In a statement to federal agents, Ramirez Lema said he shipped merchandise and cars to Bolivia via freight forwarding companies in Baltimore, Maryland and Newark, New Jersey. He said that he usually purchased between two and three guns a month and bought most of the guns in Leesburg and Sterling.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Dana J. Boente, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s and Homeland Security Investigations Clark E. Settles, and Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Washington Field Division Michael Boxler, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III.

Comments

Why wasn’t Eric Holder prosecuted for running guns into Mexico that were traced to mass killings? I guess Ms. Ramirez Lema is not as important or connected as Holder…

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